A significant problem exists for passengers in transport vehicles such as airliners whenever such passengers are seated in rows which are directly facing vehicle bulkheads or class divider walls. Specifically, passengers seated in such rows suffer from a much greater risk of injury during a survivable crash as compared to the majority of the other passengers in the aircraft. The reason for the increased risk of injury is that airliner seat backs are typically designed such that they will collapse forwardly when struck from behind by a passenger during crash conditions. The seat back collapses in an energy-absorbing manner, thus decelerating the movement of the passenger and minimizing the risk of serious injury which might otherwise be sustained. By comparison, passengers who are seated in rows directly behind bulkheads or class dividers do not have the benefit of such collapsible seat mechanisms. The sudden deceleration generally associated with a crash generally has a tendency to throw a passenger forward, stretching the passenger's seatbelt. For passengers seated behind the bulkheads or class dividers, this forward motion is usually sufficient to cause the passenger's head to strike the bulkhead or class divider, thus causing severe head injury.
There have been a number of inventions proposed to improve passenger safety for passengers who are not seated in bulkhead or class divider rows. For example, Tassy U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,535 discloses an inflatable personal vehicle crash barrier and water flotation life preserver. According to Tassy, the airbags, when inflated, firmly wedge an air passenger in their seat, and thereby prevents injuries resulting from a crash. Higgins U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,569 discloses a passive restraint system for a high speed transport vehicle which also utilizes inflatable bags placed in the backs of seats of the vehicle. Significantly, however, these inventions do not disclose any method for minimizing injury to passengers seated in rows directly behind bulkheads or class dividers while simultaneously avoiding any interference with exit paths from the vehicle.